Susan M. Morgan, CFCS, M.Ed.
County Extension Agent
Family and Consumer Education
Bolivia, NC 28422

LET ICE CREAM RECALL SERVE AS A COLD REMINDER

Most American’s now know better than to eat raw eggs. But according to Food Safety Specialists, if you eat cookie dough or lick cake batter-slathered beaters, it’s the same as slurping down a raw egg. Don’t do it, warn North Carolina Cooperative Extension food safety experts. Cookie dough and cake batter are often eaten without cooking and probably everyone, as a child, enjoyed licking the beaters. Now we know it’s not safe to eat these foods that are intended to be cooked before eating.

A recent recall of Cold Stone Creamery’s Cake Batter Ice Cream should serve as a reminder. During an investigation, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration confirmed that the sweet cream ice cream base was pasteurized but the dry cake mix that was added to the ice cream base was labeled by the manufacturer as a “baking mix.” The dry cake mix was labeled to indicate that it should be baked before using.

Massachusetts, Virginia, Washington, Oregon, Minnesota, Ohio, Michigan, and California all had confirmed cases of Salmonella Typhimurium illnesses from the ice cream. A case in Illinois was confirmed, but is counted in Virginia because that is where the person ate the ice cream. No other flavors of ice cream have been associated with illness to date.

The Cake Batter Ice Cream was prepared in a foodservice establishment. Preparation involved adding a dry cake mix to a pasteurized sweet cream base and the combination did not undergo additional processing prior to freezing. FDA wants to increase awareness that Salmonella is known to present occasionally in flour and other ingredients that might be listed on the dry cake mix label. The bacteria might also be in other non-animal foods, such as barley, cereal powders, and yeast.

Dry cake mix is a product designed to be re-hydrated and then cooked. Dry cake mix should not be considered a ready-to-eat food because it has not been processed to ensure that pathogens have been destroyed or reduced in numbers to an acceptable level. Ready-to-eat foods are typically processed to ensure that they’re safe to eat without further cooking.

Similar products, such as cookie dough ice creams and cake mix milk shakes, could also pose a serious food safety risk if they are prepared with ingredients that are intended to be cooked, the FDA ruling said.

The FDA is informing the retail and foodservice industries that incorporating an ingredient that is intended to be cooked into a ready-to-eat food that will not be cooked or otherwise treated to eliminate microorganisms of public health concern can pose a serious food safety risk. A report on the recall says that the FDA is also asking foodservice operations to review their menus for these types of products. They should either work with their suppliers to ensure all ingredients are intended to be ready-to-eat or to process their final products to eliminate microorganisms of public health concern.

Procedures for similar products, such as “cookie dough” ice creams and “cake mix” milkshakes, could pose similar food safety risks if prepared with ingredients that are intended to be cooked.

You should also think about other hazardous ingredients. Remember that temptation to lick the cookie or cake batter beaters? Raw unpasteurized eggs are a recognized source of Salmonella bacteria. Unless you use pasteurized eggs, resist the temptation to lick the beaters. Wait until the cookies or cakes have been baked to indulge or you are risking getting sick.

This also means your scrambled, fried or boiled eggs should also be cooked completely. If you choose to eat over-easy or runny eggs, you are taking a risk on getting salmonellosis. Restaurants in some states are required to warn customers that eating certain undercooked or raw foods, including eggs, poses a health risk. This is not a requirement in North Carolina.

When cooking in your own kitchen, routine precautionary measures should be taken to prevent cross-contamination from raw products and surfaces that haven’t been adequately cleaned and sanitized.

So, if you are wondering if it’s safe to let you or your kids lick the bowl, the answer is: “Who wants to take a chance?”

Susan Morgan is Extension Agent for Family and Consumer Education for the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service in Brunswick County. For more information or questions, contact Susan at 253-2610 or P. O. Box 109, Bolivia, NC 28422.

Please e-mail Susan Morgan

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Date Created 9/16/2005